C's Reviews > A Wild Sheep Chase

I hadn't read this book since 1999, when I was consuming Murakami like a madman. I've always felt very warmly toward Murakami, for the typical reasons but also because I discovered him (specifically, Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World) randomly as I was shelving books in my minimum-wage job at the Barnes and Noble on Shattuck and Durant. I hadn't yet become sufficiently cool and college-y to be in the know about Murakami and other intellectually hipster type-things (remember, J: "He likes the Cure, Murakami, and Wong Kar Wai! I have to marry him!") and I was delighted at finding my special random book that I loved so much.

A Wild Sheep Chase might have been the second Murakami book that I read. I don't remember liking it that much, which is probably why I hadn't re-read it for twelve years, but, reading it now, I liked it a lot. It feels kind of Murakami-early/Murakami-lite, in a pleasant, simple way. In the same vein, the (eternally the same) protagonist felt more relatable in this book than in some of the later books. This was a nice surprise re-visit.

1Q84 (+ bookclub) soon!